Grand Army of the Republic - Charters

Department of Kansas

Manuscript Collection no. 126

• Descriptive Information
• History/Biographical Sketch
• Scope and Contents
• Organization of the Collection
• Adjunct Descriptive Data
• Controlled Access Headings
• Administrative Information
• Description of Subordinate Components

Descriptive Information

This section provides basic data about the collection and a brief overview of its contents.

1.1 Repository
Kansas State Historical Society (Topeka)

1.2 Creator
Grand Army of the Republic. Dept. of Kansas.

1.3 Title
Charters

1.4 Dates
ca. 1880-1943

1.5 Quantity
1 box [oversize] (1.5 ft.)

1.6 Abstract
This series includes charters issued by the Kansas Department of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) for the organization of a local post or precinct. The Kansas GAR comprised the state branch of a national organization of Union veterans of the Civil War. The organization purported to preserve fraternal bonds among surviving Union veterans, perpetuate the history of the dead, and assist veterans in need and their families.

1.7 Identification
Ms. collection no. 126
Shelf location 105-02-04-04
Consult the Description of Subordinate Components section below for a complete list of charters in this series.

1.8 Notes
This finding aid describes materials held by the Kansas State Historical Society. Materials may be used in the Research Room in the society’s Center for Historical Research during regular research hours. Support for telephone, mail, and online reference and research is limited.

In a continuing effort to improve the completeness and accuracy of finding aids, revisions are made as more or new information becomes available. Consequently, this finding aid may differ slightly from what appears on the microfilm or on the Kansas State Historical Society’s web site.

History/Biographical Sketch

This section contains a brief sketch of the organization that created the records.

2.1 History
An organizational history of the Kansas Department of the Grand Army of the Republic is also available.

Scope And Contents

This section contains a description and analysis of the contents of the collection.

This series includes the original surviving charters of some local posts of the Kansas Department of the Grand Army of the Republic. The Kansas Department issued the charters to local posts at the time of their organization. Typically, the charters included the names of the founding members of the post; the post name, number, and location; the department issuing the charter and its location; and the date of issue. The charters are usually signed by the current Department Commander and Adjutant General.

Organization of the Collection

This section describes the order in which the collection’s contents have been placed.

The charters are filed in random order in one oversize portfolio case. The charters in this series are the only surviving original charters of Kansas GAR posts, and most are in very fragile condition. Where possible, photocopies of these charters have been filed with muster rolls by post number in Series 8, Post Records (Loose). In some cases, photocopies were made of charters that no longer survive. These photocopies were filed by post number with the muster rolls in Series 8, and no corresponding originals survive in this collection of original charters. Consult Series 8, Post Records (Loose) for photocopies of additional charters not included in this series.

Adjunct Descriptive Data

This section includes lists of sources used in the preparation of this finding aid, collections on similar subjects that may be of interest to researchers, items cataloged separately, and items removed from the collection.

5.1 Related Materials

Administrative records, 1878-1945 (1882-1914), Grand Army of the Republic, Kansas Department, Manuscript Collection 126, Series 1- 7. See Administrative Records for a list of records in this collection.

Post Records (Loose), ca. 1880-1943, Grand Army of the Republic, Kansas Department, Manuscript Collection 126, Series 8. See Post Records (Unbound) for a list of records in this collection.

Post Records (Bound), ca. 1880-1943, Grand Army of the Republic, Kansas Department, Manuscript Collection 126, Series 9. See Post Records (Bound) for a list of records in this collection.

See the Administrative Records finding aid for a list of additional related materials in allied collections.

5.3 Other Finding Aid
Copies of this finding aid are available in the Research Room of the Center for Historical Research and on its web site, http://www.kshs.org.

Controlled Access Headings

The terms listed below may include names, places, subjects, occupations, titles, and other words describing this collection. These terms are used in the ATLAS catalog used by the Kansas State Historical Society and affiliated libraries in Topeka, http://lib.wuacc.edu/search, as well as libraries and archives subscribing to OCLC, an international library/archives database. Searches on these words should produce a description of this collection as well as other books and collections that may be of interest. Names are subjects unless otherwise noted. Topical terms are Library of Congress subject headings unless indicated otherwise.

6.2 Corporate Names
Grand Army of the Republic.; Dept. of Kansas.

6.3 Geographic Names
Kansas -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
Kansas -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Societies, etc.
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Societies, etc.
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Veterans.

6.4 Subjects
Fraternal societies - Kansas.
Friendly societies -- Kansas.
Grand Army of the Republic.; Dept. of Kansas -- History.
Grand Army of the Republic.; Dept. of Kansas -- Records and correspondence.
Grand Army of the Republic.; Dept. of Kansas -- Societies, etc.
Military pensions -- United States -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
Patriotic Societies - Kansas.
Soldiers - Kansas.
Societies (fraternal).
Veterans - Kansas.

Administrative Information

This section provides more detailed information about this collection that may be helpful to those wishing to use it, including its history, restrictions, copyright information, other formats, and a suggested citation form.

7.1 Restrictions on Access
None.

7.2 Restrictions on Use
Notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code). The user is cautioned that the publication of the contents of this microfilm may be construed as constituting a violation of literary property rights. These rights derive from the principle of common law, affirmed in the copyright law of 1976 as amended, that the writer of an unpublished letter or other manuscript has the sole right to publish the contents thereof unless he or she affirmatively parts with that right; the right descends to his or her legal heirs regardless of the ownership of the physical manuscript itself. It is the responsibility of a user or his or her publisher to secure the permission of the owner of literary property rights in unpublished writing.

7.4 Alternate Form Available
Some materials may be available in both paper and microfilm formats. See collection inventories for availability of alternate formats.

7.5 Preferred Citation
Note: [ document and/or series description, date], Grand Army of the Republic, Dept. of Kansas, Charters, ca. 1880--1943, Kansas State Historical Society, Ms. Collection 126 [box number]; microfilm MS [roll number].

Bibliography: Grand Army of the Republic, Dept. of Kansas. Charters, ca. 1880- 1943, Kansas State Historical Society, Ms. Collection 126 [box number]; microfilm MS [roll number].

7.6 Acquisition Information
In 1957 the Kansas state legislature assigned custody of all records held by the state department of the Grand Army of the Republic at the Memorial Building in Topeka, Kansas, to the Kansas State Historical Society (L. 1957 ch444, p948-949). The KSHS secretary’s report for the annual meeting ending 20 October 1959 notes:

“Records of the Grand Army of the Republic, Department of Kansas, were moved into the archives division from the old office space of the GAR during the past year. Fiscal and reunion records, 1879-1936, have been microfilmed while letters and papers of the organization, totaling 18 manuscript volumes and 14 document boxes, have been arranged and shelved” (KHQ, v XXVI, 1960 [Kansas Historical Collections, v XLII], p. 78).

Since the 1950s, the Society has received a number of additional GAR records by donation. The identification of considerable gaps in the Grand Army records has prompted the Society to solicit additional donations.

7.7 Processing Information
Collection processed by:

Lorene Anderson Hawley, librarian, 1959-1960s
Suellyn Lathrop, archivist, 1992-1997
Suzanne Guinn, (Lela Barns intern and volunteer), 2001
Benjamin Stone, archivist, 2005
Michael A. Church, archivist, 2006-2007

Description Of Subordinate Components

The following table lists those posts for which charters are included in this collection, but the entries do not reflect the order in which the charters appear in the box.

Related Content

• Grand Army of the Republic - Post Records - Bound
• Grand Army of the Republic - Records
• Grand Army of the Republic - Administrative Records
• Grand Army of the Republic - Post Records - Unbound
• 1890 Census - Union Veterans and Widows

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